The Indian cricket team faces the challenge of making a comeback in the remaining four matches of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The second Test will be played at Edgbaston from July 2. Birmingham is one of three venues in England where India has never won a Test match. The Indian team has played eight matches in Birmingham, losing seven and drawing one. The other two venues where India has never registered a win are Manchester and Southampton.
India trailing in the series
India lost the first match of the five-Test series in Leeds by five wickets. Ben Stokes’ team leads the series 1-0. While India’s top-order batters performed well, the lower order failed to make a significant contribution. This was evident in the first innings, where India, under the captaincy of Shubman Gill, lost their last seven wickets for just 41 runs. From looking set to score over 500, India was bowled out for 471.
Gill needs to make a mark as captain
In the second innings, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, and Prasidh Krishna failed to score. India lost their last six wickets for just 32 runs. Prasidh Krishna emphasized that lower-order contributions are also crucial and that they are focusing on it during net practice.
Shubman Gill, 25, has received mixed reactions for his captaincy. He took over the role after Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket. As a batsman, Gill impressed with a 147-run knock in the first innings, showing good form. However, he still needs to make a mark as a captain.
